Mercer International Inc. to Acquire One of Germany's Largest Sawmills and a Bio-Mass Power Plant

Mercer International Inc. (Nasdaq:MERC) (TSX:MERC.U) has just announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of one of Germany’s largest sawmills and a bio-mass power plant, near Friesau, Germany (the "Friesau Facility") for approximately $55.1 million plus defined working capital of approximately $9.0 million.

Friesau Facility Highlights

The Friesau Facility:

has an annual production capacity of approximately 550 million board feet (mmfbm) on a continuously operating basis and 465 million mmfbm on a customary three-shift operating basis;

includes a modern bio-mass fueled cogeneration power plant, built in 2009, with an annual production capacity of approximately 13MW of electricity and 49.5MW of thermal energy. The plant sells electricity pursuant to a long-term fixed price green power tariff that runs to 2029;

is located approximately 16 kilometers west of our Rosenthal mill and has historically been one of its largest fiber suppliers.

Selected Historical Financial Information

Based upon its historical unaudited financial information, over its last three fiscal years, we believe the Friesau Facility had average annual:

revenues of approximately $180 million;

lumber production of approximately 320 mmfbm;

energy sales of approximately $10 million; and

EBITDA of approximately $13 million, comprised of approximately $9 million from lumber operations and approximately $4 million from energy sales. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Potential Operating Synergies

We believe the acquisition of the Friesau Facility presents the following potential operating synergies and opportunities:

operating synergies in the range of $4 to $7 million per year, primarily relating to the sharing of wood and bio-mass fuel resources and the optimization of staffing and services with our Rosenthal mill. We currently expect to achieve about one-third of such synergies within 12 months of closing and the balance over the following 6 months;

the opportunity to materially increase lumber production particularly at the start of 2018; and

the opportunity to reduce costs and improve sales realizations at the Friesau Facility through targeted capital upgrades.

Recent Production and Ramp-Up

Over the last two years, the Friesau Facility has been operated by its owner on a restricted basis at a level below 50% of capacity. While we intend to ramp-up production upon closing, in the mill's fibre region, major sawlog contracts are generally awarded on a yearly basis. As a result, we expect such production ramp-up to be materially increased commencing at the start of 2018. After such ramp-up, we currently expect to operate the Friesau Facility to produce between 300 and 330 mmfbm of lumber per annum. During the initial integration period of the Friesau Facility, which we estimate will take about 4 to 6 months, we do not expect the acquisition to contribute to our earnings.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete around the beginning of the second quarter of 2017.

Mr. David M. Gandossi, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We are pleased to enter the European lumber sector, with the acquisition of one of Germany’s largest sawmills. The proposed acquisition also expands our existing presence in the bio-mass based electricity market and is in line with our long-term growth objectives.

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